3 Takeaways: Isles Get Point in Second-Straight, Fall 4-3 in OT to Wings

The New York Islanders picked up a point for a second-straight game, but could not secure a win, falling 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.
Moritz Seider scored the OT winner at 3:33 of the extra frame, extending the Islanders winless streak to 10 games (0-8-2). Oliver Wahlstrom scored a pair of power-play goals for the Islanders, including the tying goal in the third period, while Cal Clutterbuck netted the Islanders' first shorthanded goal of the season. Filip Hronek, Sam Gagner and Givani Smith scored for Detroit in regulation, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 20 saves for the win. Ilya Sorokin stopped 26-of-30 in the loss.

"A step in the right direction," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We're more committed to our game, I think we have more understanding of our game and as we get people back, hopefully we'll have more wins in our game."
See below for three takeaways from the Motor City.

ISLES GRIND OUT ANOTHER POINT:

Saturday's finish left a sour taste in the Islanders mouth, as the team skated to its 10th-straight game without a win.
Still, it was another step in the right direction, as the Islanders scored three goals for the first time since a 6-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens one month prior. That was a development for a team who hasn't had offense come easy of late and Trotz noted how his team had to battle back in the second-and-third periods to grind out a point.
RED WINGS 4, ISLANDERS 3 OT
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"We were resilient," Trotz said. "I don't have a whole of complaints on the game, other than a little bit of a slow start and we had to battle back to get a point and we did."
The Islanders got an early boost from Clutterbuck, who scored on shorthanded coast-to-coast rush 2:45 into the contest, but couldn't build off of it, getting outshot 12-3 in the opening frame while being out-attempted 24-8.
Like Thursday vs San Jose, the Islanders jumped out to an early lead, but also like Thursday, the Islanders allowed their opponent to tie the game in short order, with Hronek beating Ilya Sorokin with a seeing-eye shot from the point to make it 1-1 at 5:18. Just over two minutes later, the Red Wings took the lead, with Gagner banking a sharp-angled shot off Sorokin at 7:37, an uncharacteristic allowance for the Islanders netminder.
The Isles showed some offensive jump to start the second, outshooting the Red Wings 11-6 in the middle frame. The pucks-on-net mentality was rewarded with Wahlstrom's first power-play goal of the game at 10:49, beating Nedeljkovic with a wrister through traffic. The power-play goal marked Wahlstrom's first point in 11 games, but the tie game was short-lived, as Smith made it 3-2 2:30 later, keeping, shooting and scoring far side on a two-on-one rush at 13:19 of the second period.
"We get it tied up and they go ahead. It's tough mentally for a team that hasn't won in a while," Trotz said. "You ask your special teams to give you a boost and they did."
Wahlstrom came through for his second power-play goal of the game to make it 3-3 at 12:33, as he one-timed a Mathew Barzal feed that deflected off of Carter Rowney's stick and past Nedeljkovic. That capped an active night for 21-year-old, who finished with two goals, as well as 17 penalty minutes, the result of a fighting major and instigating penalty for dropping the gloves with Adam Erne after Erne laid out Anthony Beauvillier.
The second power-play goal was enough to send the game to overtime, but that's as far as the Isles would get for a second-straight game. Detroit outshot the Islanders 5-1 in the extra frame, culminating in Seider's one-timer at 3:33 to power the Red Wings to their fifth-straight victory.
"Pretty good hockey game, obviously we're frustrated not getting the two points," Barzal said. "We have to turn the page quickly here, we have a big one tomorrow at home. We need to get one at home in front of our fans, so it was nice to get a point on the road. It's not what we ultimately want, but we'll be ready tomorrow."

SPECIAL TEAMS A BRIGHT SPOT FOR ISLANDERS:

The Islanders needed a boost from their special teams and they got it on Saturday, as all three Isles goals two tallies on the power play, as well as one shorthanded, came via special teams.
The Islanders netted a pair of power-play goals for the second time this season and first since a two-for-four showing in a 3-2 OT loss to the Nashville Predators on Oct. 30. It was clicking on Saturday, with Wahlstrom netting his first goal on the first shot of the man advantage. When the Isles needed a goal in the third to tie it, the power play, which entered the game ranked 32nd in the league, came through.
"It was just execution," Wahlstrom said. "The most important thing is the breakout. It hasn't been pretty this year, but we just have to hone it down and keep working on it. Just have to keep working."
Clutterbuck's shorthanded goal marked the Islanders first of the season - and it came spectacular fashion. The veteran winger skated coast-to-coast wheeling around Filip Zadina before eluding an Nedeljkovic pokecheck and depositing the puck.
While that was likely the highlight of the night for the Islanders, the PK did the dirty work of killing off a 1:17 five-on-three in the first keeping the Isles within striking distance down 2-1. The Islanders penalty kill is now 7-for-7 in the past three games and 14-for-15 in the past five.
"There are a lot of areas of our game that we can look at, some we can build off, some we can correct, but 3-for-3 with getting one is a good start," Clutterbuck said.

CHARA AND BELLOWS RETURN, CZARNIK DEBUTS:

The Islanders got more reinforcements back on Saturday night, as Zdeno Chara and Kieffer Bellows returned to the lineup after being in COVID-19 protocol.
Bellows, playing in his first game since Nov. 20, skated on a line with JG Pageau and Kyle Palmieri, and skated 13:09 TOI with one shot on goal and two additional attempts. Otto Koivula came out of the lineup.
Chara, also playing in his first game since Nov. 21, was paired with Sebastian Aho and 16:39 with a pair of shots and one block. Grant Hutton came out of the lineup to accommodate Chara's return.
Austin Czarnik also made his season debut on Saturday night, filling in for Andy Andreoff, who was reassigned to the Bridgeport Islanders. Czarnik centered Anthony Beauvillier and Oliver Wahlstrom, playing 13:56 with a pair of blocks and going 3-for-7 on the draw.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders are back in action on Sunday night as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.